Nobody In Particular
by livelyfingered
Summary: Because she believed in self-improvement and he was always going to be there to compliment her. / AustinAlly. Oneshot.


**A/N: I'm so thankful for the enthusiastic reception of my previous (and first) story, At Water's Edge. This oneshot was inspired in part by Tolstoy's **_**War and Peace**_** – at one point, Natasha (a count's daughter who sings very well and is full of angst) supposedly falls in love with her singing instructor…and **_**voila**_**, a unique take on a (just barely OOC) relationship between our favorite singer and songwriter. Sorry for the wordy author's note, but I thought it was necessary to explain my source of ideas. Peace out!**

**Hey Sarah, you probably won't be **_**too**_** uncomfortable reading this. Hehe.**

_Stage One_

"I believe in self-improvement, Austin. This is a chance for us to _learn_ from each other, and it won't make me doubt my own capabilities, I promise! If you teach me, then I'll teach you. You can't possibly turn down a week of piano lessons from your favorite songwriter…"

She flashed a hopeful grin at him, silently pleading that he'd give in.

"But you already have a great voice! I don't even know how to help you improve it! I think it would be better if you went to a professional voice coach or something."

"But can't we just try it? Look, it's not because I feel inferior or anything, it's just that I really want to improve my voice. No biggie, right? All you gotta do is put the sizzle on the grizzle."

He couldn't help but let out a snigger in response to her attempt at being laid-back.

"Never say that again, Ally." She gave him a grudging smile before sitting back down on the piano bench. He promptly followed suit.

"But honestly, Austin, I love singing and I'm not about to let that go. I'd really appreciate a few lessons from the _master_." She poked him in the ribs and giggled when he gasped in surprise.

He made a quick recovery and quipped, "Oh, I'm the _master_ now, am I? Well, then, Miss Dawson, let us begin."

"I knew you'd come around."

"Well, you know I'd do anything for you, right?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, and the two of them shared a brief smile.

"Thanks, Austin." She threw her arms around his neck, and he felt like never letting go. _I feel so close to you right now… _He just wanted to hold her in his arms.

He cleared his throat and quickly asked, "So – when do we start?"

_Stage Two_

"If you want a deeper sound, you'll have to sing from your stomach, not your throat. Really, though, you're an awesome singer. I honestly can't say much else."

"_I feel so close to you right now, it's a force field…_"

"Yeah, see, you put so much more emotion into that. I know the song's meant for a guy, but I felt like it would help you work on the fuller edge to your voice, like you wanted. _I wear my heart upon my sleeve, like a big deal…_"

"Wow, Austin, if I didn't know you any better I'd say you _were _Calvin Harris."

"Thanks. But he has this distinct voice, you know? And my voice is sort of…too smooth sometimes, you know what I mean? But your song lyrics always make it work."

Her cheeks tinged pink at the compliment, but he just grinned.

_Stage Three_

"Hey, Austin, it's time for your piano lesson with _me_!"

"Okay, I'm ready."

He joined her on the piano bench, and totally violated her personal space – not that she was complaining.

"So, uh, we'll work today on channeling your emotions through piano music. You're already amazing, but I'd like to teach you a crucial piece of information: finding your escape in the instrument. You know what I mean? Like, you get home from a stressful day of classes and all you want to do is sleep, but there's so much homework and you're probably going to need to pull an all-nighter. So what do you do? You attack the piano with the angriest piece of music you can find, and when you're finished, you feel _so _much better. Or maybe you discover that you really like someone, but you can't bring yourself to tell them, so you go home and compose a love-drunk tune and play it over and over again until you _finally_ forget that person for the moment, and you play the tune some more because you _really_ want to stop thinking about their nice abs or something, and then you stop for a second, and all of a sudden everything about them is flooding your mind and…"

"Ally, you're ranting."

"Oh, yeah. Um, sorry about that – sometimes I get carried away."

"Yeah."

"I'm really sorry, Austin. Let's get back to work."

"Um, before we start…"

"Yes?"

"Who's the guy?"

"Huh?"

"Like, who's the guy you really like? You were talking about abs and stuff, so I figured that you had somebody in mind… sorry, I'm just really curious."

"Oh, uh, you know – nobody in particular. I was just talking about having a crush on someone in general."

"Oh. Okay."

_Stage Four_

"_You told me to forget I love you, but you never told me how… I can't tell this heart of mine: stop, don't love her now._"

"How true," he said from behind her.

"Austin, when did you get here?"

"Um, just a few moments ago… that a new song you're working on?"

"It's supposed to be your next song. You like it so far?"

"Well, it explains my emotions perfectly."

"Really? For who?"

"Um, you know. Nobody in particular, just – just overall."

"You're really bad at lying."

"I know, but it was worth a shot, right?"

"Spill, lover boy."

"I – I can't. She likes someone else and I don't want to embarrass myself. I'm trying to forget her, but it's really hard when I see her _every _day…"

"Oh – oh my gosh. You like _Trish_?"

"No! Well, I mean, she's a great friend and manager, but I don't like her that way. Where'd you get that idea?"

"Well, you said you see her every day."

"Wow, since when is Ally Dawson so oblivious?" He smirked at her, and then proceeded to saunter out of the practice room.

"What was _that_?" Her brow wrinkled in confusion.

_Stage Five_

"Wait. Hold on, Ally. Austin likes _you_!"

"Trish, let's not be silly here. Austin likes cheerleaders, not me."

"Oh my Lord, Ally – can't you see? He flirts with you left and right, he said that he likes a girl he sees every day, and it's obviously not me. _He likes you_. And you like him!"

"Okay – okay. I'll go talk to him. We have to be careful, you know. We can't afford to ruin our friendship and musical partnership."

_Stage Six_

"Austin? Can you come here for a minute?"

"What's up?"

"I'm about to ask you something really important, and I want you to be honest."

"Sure. Go ahead, shoot."

"Do you like me?"

"Of course I do! You're awesome, Ally, and you're a great friend, and – are you doubting yourself? See, I told you taking lessons from me wouldn't do you much good."

"No – Austin. Do you _like_ me? You know, like, romantically?"

He took a deep breath and turned to face her.

"Don't – don't do this to me, Ally."

"Do what?"

"Don't…do what you do. You know what I mean."

"Oh, you mean the way that I do?" He couldn't help but snicker at her reference to their song.

"Yeah…the way that you do. Do you get it now, Ally?"

"Sure, I guess…?"

"Okay. On the count of three?"

"Wait, for what?"

"One."

"Austin, what are we doing on three?"

"Two."

"Wait, I'm confused!"

"Three."

And he kissed her.

**There you go! I'm not sure I'm entirely satisfied with this piece, but I wanted to give you guys something this weekend. Let me know what you think!**

_**Feel So Close**_**, Calvin Harris; **_**How Can I Forget You**_**, Faron Young; **_**The Way That You Do**_**, Ross Lynch**


End file.
